Be My Crutch
by mrsremusjohnlupin
Summary: Hannah "finds" Neville hiding out in a Muggle cafe after the war. Neville/Hannah


After taking a sip of his tea, Neville spit it up all over himself when he saw who walked through the door.

He had been spending the better time of his afternoons tucked away in a Muggle café, hoping to go unnoticed by any wizards. Rita Skeeter and several other reporters- for Witch Weekly, The Quibbler, and more from The Daily Prophet- had been trying to contact him about events that took place at Hogwarts.

But he would by lying to himself if he said that was the reason for his getaways.

The truth was that spending time away from all the magic people comforted him. Muggles knew something bad was happening when Death Eaters started killing and terrorizing them, but now that it has passed their memory seemed to have gone with it. None of them looked near as haunted as Neville felt.

He had also been avoiding all of his persistent friends; Hermione and Ginny had sent him about twenty letters. So he was surprised when he saw former Dumbledore's Army member, Hannah Abbott, walk through the ringing door. Neville sunk down in his seat and tried to make himself smaller, but the past two years he had grown at a rapid rate. It was impossible to seem small when he stood at six foot four.

As she shed her gloves Neville chanced a peek at her, only to notice that she was looking into his eyes. He jumped back and peered at the mug which held his tea. It would give him all the answers he needed.

"Neville!" he almost knocked the tea off the table in front of him as Hannah greeted him. Turning it so the handle faced her, he figured it was time to admit defeat. "_Fancy _meeting you here!" her emphasis on the fancy only concluded that she knew he was there. Hannah was a dreadful liar.

Sitting up straight in the booth he occupied he flashed her a small smile, only to see that she was grinning at him. Her cheeks were tinged pink from the chilly November air outside, and she still wore a hat with a pink puffball on the top. When she motioned to herself, it was clear to Neville what he needed to do. Being slow on purpose, he slid out of his seat to stand and be embraced by the golden-haired former Hufflepuff.

"Hello Hannah," he squeezed her back with less enthusiasm. But when she pulled back that smile was still plastered on her face. Sitting back down on the red leather seat, he motioned across from him. Because it was the polite thing to do. "Won't you join me?"

A small squeal emitted from her tiny form and then she was sitting across from him in a blink of his eyes.

"I would love to," she smiled as she tucked her gloves between her and the wall. Then she unzipped her coat and placed that on top of her hand warmers. When she reached up to take her hat off, the waitress came over and Hannah ordered "tea with five sugars". Neville looked down at his own neglected drink.

"It's only worth drinking because of the sugar," Neville looked up and she winked at him. The waitress leaving had escaped his notice. Her hat lay forgotten on top of her head. "So what brings_ you_ here Neville?" her lying façade was back on and she had not gotten better in the past five minutes.

He needed to humor her. That way she could leave him sooner and he would get his peace back. So he leaned forward across the table and whispered, "Can you keep a secret?"

Hannah smiled at him, her eyes seeming to light up at the mere prospect of a confidential conversation. She nodded while leaning towards him. He looked around the café, as if searching for someone attempting to overhear them. He beckoned her even closer and let his lips ghost over her ear.

"Reporters."

"Ohhh!" she leaned back and nodded, smiling as she did so. "I _know_! They have been buggering me since the day after the accident," she shook her head while sighing. "Some people have _no_ respect."

Neville knew that those times, when she put emphasis on a word, she was telling the truth. But he just shrugged where he sat; his back straight in the booth.

"They are just doing their job," he grabbed a spoon off the table and set it into is tea, stirring it as the waitress returned with Hannah's drink. Maybe he would leave first and try to find a different hideout. That one seemed to have been discovered.

As he took a sip and glanced over the brim of the warm mug, Neville saw her watching him. Her hands were holding the cup that held her tea, but it was as if she were frozen. She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again. When his cup hit the table with a clanking sound she finally found her voice.

"How are you, Neville?"

He knew that she was not just referring to his general wellbeing. Hannah meant after the war, how it had affected him. The underlining meaning being that she knows he is not the best. He spent his days in a Muggle shop watching them walk by and on with their daily hectic lives. It was easy to watch from the outside of the glass and assume everything in their lives were perfect. Which was a nice thought, but he knew there was no way it was true. Everyone had their own personal tragedies, they just did not know how lucky they were.

His fingers fiddled with the rim on his cup and he blinked up at her.

"It could be worse," which was true. When he had visited Harry in July for his birthday, he saw George without his twin. Saying that the bloke looked a mess would be a serious understatement. The word that came to mind upon first glance even, was that he was _lost_.

Then a warm, soft hand was covering his on the cup and he looked up again. He had not realized his gaze had shifted down while he thought of the Weasley. Hannah was giving him a look of concern with understanding mixed in. She gave him a small smile when he let go of the cup and let his fingers wrap around hers over the table.

They sat like that while the minutes ticked by. Which actually went by faster than he would have thought. For a moment he was suspended, eyes locked on hers. Those light blue eyes looking right back into his, making him feel exposed. Naked. Her eyes seemed to be endless, and he felt himself disappearing inside of her. 'The eyes are the window to the soul' was an expression he would never again doubt.

"I can't lie to you, Neville," the contact was broken as he glanced at someone else entering the café. He was not about to tell her what a horrid liar she was. There was no way he wanted to chance bringing her down. But she did not continue to talk until he moved his eyes back to hers. "Hermione sent me here."

He had figured that it was something like that so he nodded with a tight-lipped smile, letting her know it was alright to continue. Their hands were still together on the tabletop. It did not escape him that the pad her thumb was making circles against his palm.

"She had been sending you letters and never got a reply. She asked me to follow you," she leaned forward. "I would not have done it if I were not a bit scared myself. When you rescued me from the Carrows, you calmed me down by talking about a life full of opportunities. No Voldemort and a lifetime of options. You told me how you wanted to teach students what you learned about in Herbology. Yet this year you didn't go back to Hogwarts with Hermione, Dean, Seamus, Ernie, or Susan. You need to go back for your NEWT year for that."

"I think my time at Hogwarts is over."

"I know it will be hard," she spoke so soft he had to strain to hear her. "But if anyone can face the walls of that school after everything we've seen, it is you. Harry and Ron are not even going back. But I _know _that you should. It's your dream, and if you throw that away, everything that you have worked for will be for nothing."

Her other hand reached over to grasp the other side of his hand. Both of hers were so small that together they almost did not cover his. His hand was not even against the cool table now.

"You deserve to become what you want."

"It's too late," he nearly choked on the words, but caught himself.

"No. The Ministry is letting a number of others go back too. Ones that were not yet ready," her hands let go of his as she scooted out of the booth and then slid next to him. An empty loss came over him when his hand lay there on the table, unprotected. He moved over to give her more room. Then she grabbed his hand and placed his open palm across her chest.

Puzzled by this bizarre action, he was staring at where his hand lay. Neville was about to open his mouth and ask a question when he felt, rather than heard, her laugh. "Do you feel that?"

If by 'it' she meant her breast, then yes.

"It's my heart."

"Oh," because that would make much more sense. Hannah was not the kind of lady who went around putting guys' hands on her private parts. His eyes went to hers.

"I will return to school with you," she said. "next year. We can go together," her hands grasped his as they pulled them off her chest. She placed their hands into her lap and squeezed his with a gentleness he never knew.

Instead of looking at their entwined hands, he was watching her. The way her long eyelashes moved when she blinked. Her lips, parted while she breathed, were pink and soft-looking. Her cheeks were still pink too, despite her not being in the cold. Little bits of her hair were still sticking up from when she took her hat off.

When she turned to face him and their faces were just inches apart, his body reacted on instinct. His nose nudged hers out of the way before he placed his lips against hers. Black was in his vision as he let his focus go into the kiss. His free hand went to her cheek and he cupped it until they parted.

As soon as his eyes found hers Neville searched for any sign of reluctance. Doubt. But what he found there made his heart swell. It was the first time he felt whole, and actually happy, since the war. Hannah looked as happy as he felt, and he leaned in for one more small kiss.

"Okay," he knew that he could do it with Hannah by his side. Neville had managed to be her crutch before the Battle of Hogwarts and now she would be his afterwards.

---

Authors Note;

These two are _such_ an adorable couple. ^^

I think I should keep this a one-shot (I have another story I hadn't planned on making into chapters that I am).

It is possible that I'll add more in the future, when I am less busy. P:

But for now this is all there will be.

*sweeping gesture* I would like to thank (again) the awe-inspiring _**Delta**_(deltadecapitated), because the story would be full of errors without her.

Ohh-lala! Is that _KEYBOARD_ you are looking at? Maybe you should put it to use and review. ;D Please and thank you. ^^


End file.
